Azovstal will become a propaganda tool

Occupants want to turn Azovstal into a propaganda museum - Mariupol City Council

The Russian occupation administration is planning to create a so-called «museum cluster» in Mariupol on the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant in an attempt to rewrite history and erase the memory of the heroic resistance of Ukrainian defenders. This was reported by the Mariupol City Council.

Details

According to the city council, the occupiers do not plan to restore Azovstal in its pre-war form. This was stated by the so-called «mayor» of Mariupol Anton Koltsov, who represents the illegal administration of the city.

According to the announced plans, the plant's territory is to be divide into three zones:

• historical and memorial

• industrial

• recreational

A museum of the enterprise is to be created in the «historical» part, while some industrial facilities are to be left as open-air exhibits.

The propaganda context

The city council emphasises that under the guise of «museumification», Russians are trying to impose their own version of events, The aim is to devalue the defence of Mariupol and downplay the role of the Ukrainian military who defended the city in the spring of 2022.

The occupation authorities want to turn the main area of Azovstal into post-industrial park with «environmentally friendly and high-tech» industries, recreation areas and commercial facilities - without mentioning the crimes of the Russian army and the destruction caused to the city.

Context.

Azovstal Iron and Steel Works has become a symbol of Ukraine's resistance in the first months of the full-scale war. It was on its territory that Ukrainian defenders held the line for a long time, holding back the enemy's vastly superior forces.

The Mariupol City Council emphasises that any attempts to create a «museum» without truthful coverage of events are an element of information warfare and propaganda, aimed at distorting historical memory.